Refining The Patek Signature: Ref. 5326 Annual Calendar Travel Time

OK, now let’s flash forward to 1996. Why was the Annual Calendar so significant to Patek Philippe? In the context of the time, there was a growing gap between a Patek Calatrava which cost under USD 10,000 and their perpetual calendar models, which start from USD 45,000. It was clear to Philippe Stern that there was a price segment between these two watches that Patek was not occupying. And yet this niche represented an important middle ground for a developing collector. The other important thing to understand is that a perpetual calendar is, generally speaking, a watch for a mature collector, as it needs to be operated in a certain way to ensure it functions correctly. Attempting to adjust the date while the watch is amidst the changeover function that happens between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., for example, could result in a costly service. So the more Stern thought about it, the more he saw the need for a calendar watch that was user-centric. This made sense especially in appealing to a developing group of young customers. Finally, as the watch industry in general had just recovered from the Quartz Crisis in the previous decade, it also made sense that Stern would want to spread the love of complicated watches to the next generation of collectors.

What is interesting about the creation of the Annual Calendar is that it was presented as a challenge, or more specifically, a diploma topic at Geneva’s School of Engineering in 1991. The idea was to create a new calendar system that did away with the fragile racks, cams and jumper springs of a perpetual calendar and replace them largely with gear wheels. The system that was eventually arrived at, and that Patek would patent, featured as its core innovation a 24-hour driving wheel. This had two “fingers” at an angle to one another. Finger one advanced the date once a day. The second finger was put into use on transitions from months with 30 days to the 1st of the next month, allowing you to skip the 31st. The full changeover in this scenario took four hours to complete. Interestingly, when designing Ref. 5326, it was clear to Patek that a lengthy changeover period would not be acceptable in a multi-timezone watch with date function. More on this later. Anyway, the main simplification represented by the Annual Calendar is that it no longer had to predict the 48-month leap year cycle or add the additional day in February when the leap year occurred, saving substantial mechanical costs.

Launched in 1996, Ref. 5035 Annual Calendar, priced at under USD 20,000 was an instant hit. In addition to its use of luminous hands, a sporty case made it particularly appealing with a younger audience. It was an all-around success for Patek Philippe. On the 10th year anniversary of the Annual Calendar in 2006, the complication was placed inside the two watches that it is most associated with today. The first is the Ref. 5396, which when launched back in 2006, represented the first Calatrava Annual Calendar. And the second is Ref. 5960, a fantastic automatic vertical clutch chronograph with annual calendar, although one sleeper watch is the wonderful Nautilus Annual Calendar Ref. 5726.